The present invention relates to head up displays, and more particularly, to a high intensity head up display image source for use with head up displays, and the like.
In recent years, there has been a great deal of effort relating to the development of head up displays for use in automotive vehicles. For example, the assignee of the present invention has developed a head up display system for use by law enforcement personnel, for example. This head up display system provides for virtual display of images and data derived from a number of sources, including radar, television, and a mobile data terminal that is linked by way of a communications link to law enforcement computers. However, it has been found that a high brightness image source is required for optimum performance of the system under high ambient light conditions encountered during daytime use.
The closest prior art in terms of brightness is a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) image source. The vacuum fluorescent displays are non-reconfigurable. The brightest VFD provides a light output of about 7,000 foot-lamberts. Heretofore available head up display sources have not produced images at high brightness levels.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for a high brightness image source for use in head up display systems, and the like.